Feb. 28, 2007
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV hits the road and travels north to face in-state rival Nevada, Reno in a three game series that gets underway Friday at 2:00 p.m. (PST). The series continues into the weekend with game times Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Rebels' trip to Reno is the beginning of a five-game road trip that ends with two games at Texas Tech.
THE SERIES: UNLV leads the all time series with UNR 61-42 (.582) but the recent games between the two clubs have not gone the Rebels' way. The Rebels lost two games in Reno last season, with the third being snowed out at Peccole Park. The last time the two teams played in Las Vegas, UNLV was swept by UNR in the three-game series at Earl E. Wilson.
UNLV(8-8, 0-0 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(School: 109-91, 4th Year - Career: Same)
The Rebels: UNLV enters this weekend's series at the .500 mark (8-8) after the Rebels lost two of three against Arizona at home. Efren Navarro Jr. is leading the Rebels at the plate with a .408 average (20-49) and his 12 RBI are second on the team. Blake Gailen is pacing the team with 15 runs scored and a .640 slugging percentage. Michael Brenly has driven in 14 runs. Overall the Rebels have six regulars hitting .305 or better. On the mound starter Craig Heyer (2-2) has 19 strikeouts in a team-high 31.0 innings. Out of the bullpen Marc Baca is 2-1 with three saves and he has given up just two earned runs in 10 appearances. The sophomore has struck out 14 batters and has a 1.06 ERA.
NEVADA, RENO(6-9, 0-0 Western Athletic Conference)Head Coach: Gary Powers(School: 732-578-4, 24th Year - Career: Same)
The Wolf Pack: Nevada, Reno will wrap up its first homestand of the year when it welcomes UNLV to town. The Wolf Pack was supposed to play a doubleheader with Buffalo at Peccole Park on Tuesday, but those games were snowed out. Shaun Kort is leading the offense, hitting .404 (19-47) with a home run and 16 RBI. The slugger early on for UNR has been Konrad Schmidt, who has a team-leading six home runs and 21 RBI. On the mound Friday starter Ryan Rodriguez (2-2) has been the ace of the staff with a 2.51 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 32.1 innings of work. Kody Keroher has one save in six appearances out of the bullpen.
REBELS' LAST TIME OUT: UNLV salvaged its series with No. 17 Arizona, winning on Sunday as the Rebels were playing their third-straight ranked opponent at home. In the opener on Friday, the Rebels jumped out to an early lead and got a strong outing from Craig Heyer, but they could not make them hold up in a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Wildcats. Chris Bonnell hit a two-run home run in a four-run fourth inning, but UNLV would only get one more run the rest of the night. UNLV fell behind early and could not generate a lot of offense in losing 9-3 on Saturday, getting just nine hits and committed three errors. UNLV baseball plated a pair of runs in the eighth to come back and beat Arizona 8-6 on Sunday. Rebel junior Braden Walker had the game-winning hit, a run-scoring single to left field in the that capped a 2-for-3 day for him. The win gave UNLV its fourth win this season against a ranked opponent.
